8 July 1908: Birmingham coal strike
On this day, 8 July, 1908, Black and white coal miners in Birmingham, Alabama, walked out on strike together against an attempt from bosses to eliminate the union. The strike grew quickly to a majority of workers in the area, including those who had previously been scabs. Bosses used evictions, armed thugs, scabs from the North, and forced convict labour to try to break the strike, and the press advocated vigilante attacks and tried to rouse white residents against the multiracial union. Eventually the Governor declared martial law and sent in the army against the workers, breaking the strike and marking a massive setback both to workers and to racial unity in the South.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10815/birmingham-coal-strike
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Speaker 1: On This Day and Working Class History the eighth of July.
And on the eighth of July nineteen oh eight, black
and white coal miners in Birmingham, Alabama, walked out on
strike together against an attempt from bosses to eliminate their union.
The strike grew quickly to a majority of workers in
the area, including those who had previously been scab replacement workers.
Bosses used evictions, armed thugs scabs from the north, and
forced convict labour to try to break the strike, and
the press advocated vigilante attacks and tried to rouse white
residents against the multi racial union. Eventually, the state governor
declared martial law and sent in the army against the workers,
breaking the strike and marking a massive setback both to
workers and to racial unity in the South. And the sources,
apps and all of our anniversaries each day, check out
the on This Day section of our stories app at
stories Stopworkingclasshistory.
Speaker 2: Dot com, and if you value our work, support us
at Patreon dot com slash working class History.
Speaker 1: Links in the show notes the music by Decado. See
you tomorrow.